Stocks little changed after weak housing data, Facebook shares dip

Stocks were little changed on Thursday following weaker-than-expected housing data, as major indexes recovered from small losses earlier in the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average just 10 points higher, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were each relativity flat.

Facebook shares were among the big decliners, sliding 2 percent after a worldwide outage of its core app, Instagram and WhatsApp. The social media company’s stock was also under pressure after The New York Times reported federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into data deals the company made with other tech giants.

New home sales fell 6.9 percent in January — which was more than expected and a sign the U.S. government shutdown could have kept buyers on the sidelines.

Sentiment was also dampened after Bloomberg News reported China and the U.S. are trying to push back a meeting between the countries’ two leaders from late March to April at the earliest. This comes after Trump said he was in no rush to form an agreement. Bloomberg’s report comes after China’s industrial output expanded at its slowest rate in 17 years.

Investors expected the two leaders to meet at Mar-a-Lago later this month as both sides claimed progress was being made on trade negotiations.

The two countries are still expected to reach a deal, but optimism around U.S.-China trade negotiations is “fading,” said Jason Pride, chief investment officer of private wealth at Glenmede. “The prospect for an imminent deal, which the market appeared to have priced in, has waned in the short-run.”

Apple shares rose more than 0.5 percent after Cowen initiated coverage of the company with an outperform rating and a $220 price target. Cowen cited potential long-term upside from Apple’s services business.

Snap, meanwhile, rallied more than 8 percent after BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield — a longtime skeptic of the social media company — upgraded the stock to buy for the first time. “Performance advertisers are laser focused on return on investment and spend (and spend more) where they see a compelling return,” he said, noting the stock could rise 50 percent in the next 12 months.

The S&P 500 tech sector has been on fire this week, rallying more than 3 percent through Wednesday’s close. It also became the best-performing sector year to date.

“This is a move to the upside after such dramatic move to the downside in late December,” said Jeff Zipper, managing director of investments at U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management. “Valuations are to the point where they’re not extended, so technology is an area we still like.”

Elsewhere, General Electric seesawed after the industrial giant issued weaker-than-expected earnings guidance for 2019. The stock initially fell around 4 percent in the premarket before turning around to trade 3.7 percent higher.